Lawson clamped a hand on my shoulder as he handed me a beer. “Let’s go drink these out on the porch.”
I knew that tone. It meant he wanted to talk. I mentally cursed.
“I’ll come, too,” Holt said, rising from his chair.
Roan didn’t make a sound but stood from his spot on the couch.
More curses flew around my brain. My brothers had always been too perceptive for their own good.
“I was going to help Mom with—”
Mom cut me off with a shake of her head. “Your father will help me. You go have a catch-up with your brothers.”
I tried not to glower at her. She didn’t know she was throwing me under the bus. “Sure,” I gritted out.
I followed Lawson out the door like a prisoner heading to the gallows. The moment the four of us were outside and the door shut behind us, Lawson turned on me. “What the hell is going on with Maddie?”
I feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”
“She flinched when I hugged her,” Lawson said.
“I saw it,” Holt agreed.
“She’s not moving right,” Roan growled.
I sank into one of the rockers, blowing out a breath. “I can’t break her confidence.”
Lawson leaned against the porch railing opposite me. “We can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on.”
“Cone of silence,” Holt said, taking the rocker next to mine. “I won’t even say anything to Wren.”
That was a hell of a vow to make. Holt didn’t keep secrets from his girlfriend.
I looked at Roan, who leaned against the rail next to Lawson. He lifted a brow. “Who am I going to tell?”
If the circumstances were any different, I would’ve laughed. But thinking about what I would have to share had nausea roiling through me. Maddie would be pissed as all hell if I told my brothers what was going on. But I needed them and their help and guidance. She didn’t want to make a formal report, but they might have other ways of making sure she was safe—especially Holt with all his security connections.
I stared out at the town and the lake, and I let the truth free. “Adam wasn’t just a douchebag. He was an abusive asshole.”
A series of curses and growls filled the air around me.
“She file a report?” Lawson asked.
“He dead?” Roan questioned at the same time.
“No, and I wish.”
I filled them in on everything I knew, which wasn’t a hell of a lot, but it was enough to bring the level of rage to an eleven on the front porch.
Lawson scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “She needs to at least file an order of protection. I can get an emergency one in place until she can go before a judge.”
“I tried. She doesn’t want to because he’d have to be notified of where she is.”
Holt stared out at the horizon. “He likely already knows. Guys like that are too controlling not to keep tabs.”
“Maddie took him off Find My Friends before she left, and I searched her phone. There weren’t any other tracking apps,” I explained.
“He might be too arrogant to think she’d ever step out of line,” Roan said in a low voice.
“Nothing pisses me off more than someone who would hurt a woman or a child,” Lawson gritted out.
There was weight to his tone. One heavy with history that had left scars on his soul.
“Lowest of the low,” Holt echoed, concern lining his features as he took in Lawson.
“But Maddie got out of that situation. She’s free, and she’s safe,” I said, trying to ease a little of my brother’s tension.
Holt turned his focus back to me. “He may show up here, thinking she’d come back home.”
“He could,” I agreed. “But she’s not alone here.”
“You staying with her?” Roan asked.
“What do you think?”
He grinned, but it was feral around the edges. “That you’d kill anyone who tried to mess with her.”
“Damn straight.” I might have let Maddie down in the past, but I wouldn’t let that happen ever again.
“We put him in jail, and he won’t have a chance to mess with Maddie,” Lawson argued. “I can reach out to Atlanta PD and—”
“No,” I cut him off. “She doesn’t want that. And as much as I want to push, I’m not going to. I get the sense this guy has controlled every facet of her life these past few years. I’m not about to do the same.”
I knew I’d already been pushy, convincing her to go to the doctor and staying with her, but this wasn’t something I would force her into.
“He’s right,” Holt said. “I’ve worked with a number of victims of domestic violence over the years. Taking back control of their lives is one of the most important things they can do. We just have to support her along the way.”
Holt’s years running his security company had put him in a position to guard all sorts of people. He’d dealt with stalkers, attempted kidnappings, the works.
“What do you think we need to be on the lookout for?” I asked him.
Holt rocked back and forth as if the sound the blades made helped him think better. “I need to know Adam better. His patterns and history.”
“You can’t ask Maddie.”
Holt sighed. “Okay. Let me look into this guy and see what I can find. I might be able to dig deep enough to get a better sense.”
Lawson’s brows furrowed. “Doesn’t he run some big charity?”
Roan scoffed. “Like that means anything.”
“Could just be a way of hiding his darkness,” Holt said.
My gut twisted at that, a million possibilities playing on an ugly loop in my head. What had Maddie been exposed to?
The scent of vanilla and peach swirled around me as I pulled someone against me. That smell had my body responding on instinct, tightening, wanting.
“Nash?”
My eyes flew open. Oh, crap. The body I was curved around was Maddie’s, and there was no hiding how I felt about that.
I quickly rolled to my back. “Shit.”
She laughed. “Please, like this is the first time I’ve woken up to your hard-on poking into my butt.”
I groaned. This had happened too many times to count. Puberty had not been kind to me while Maddie shared my bed several times a week.
“I need a cold shower.” Or a hot one where I let loose those thoughts of Maddie I tried so hard to keep buried.
“That does not sound like fun. But I can make breakfast while you’re doing that.”
“That’s the least you could do.”
She scowled at me. “What the heck did I do?”
I glared at her without any real heat. “If you didn’t have such a great ass, this wouldn’t be a problem.” And if she didn’t smell so good or wasn’t so damn gorgeous.
Maddie gaped at me. “You did not just say that.”
I shrugged. “It’s true.”
She pinched my side—hard.
“Rude.” I snagged her wrist, tugging Maddie closer to me. She sucked in a breath, and her gaze dropped to my lips.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I’d studiously ignored the desire in those gorgeous blue eyes over the years. Blocked out the looks that begged me for more. But, damn, it had been hard—the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I quickly released Maddie and sat up. “Cold shower is calling my name.”
I made a beeline for the bathroom, grabbing my duffel on the way. Turning the water as cold as it would go, I stayed beneath the spray until I got my body under control. It took longer than ever before as if my body and soul battled to keep their distance from Maddie.
Stepping out of the shower, I quickly toweled off and got ready. By the time I made it out into the living area, the scent of something amazing filled my nostrils. “Have I told you lately that I love you?” I called.
Maddie snorted. “You mean your stomach loves me.”
“Same thing.”
“Sure,” Maddie said, handing me a breakfast burrito wrapped in a napkin. “I didn’t realize how late we slept. I need to get to The Brew. I want to get there early for my first shift.”
My gaze roamed over her. She’d gotten ready for the day and made breakfast in the time I was in the shower. She had her hair curled in long, loose waves framing her face and wore light makeup that made the blue of her eyes somehow seem brighter if that were possible. And her lips…whatever she’d done to them made them look so damn kissable. Or maybe that was just how I saw them.
I hated the idea of an endless stream of guys coming into The Brew today and hitting on her. I cleared my throat. “I can drive you. I need to get to the station anyway.”
Maddie’s brow furrowed. “I need my car so I can get back home.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“Nash…you can’t be with me twenty-four-seven.”
I grinned at her. “Sick of me already?”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “You know I love having you around. But I also don’t want to be a burden.”
“Screw that.”
“Excuse me?”
I pulled Maddie into a hug, being careful of her ribs. “Get it through your head that you will never be a burden to me. I love spending time with you, and I missed the hell out of you while you were gone. So, just let me have my Mads time.”
She eased into me as her tension melted. “Okay.”
“Good. Now, let’s hit the road.”
“I get off at least an hour before you. I need my car.”
I let out a little growl but knew she was right. “Fine, but I’m following you in my SUV.”
Maddie sighed. “I don’t have the energy to argue with you.”
“Good.” I released her and took a bite of my breakfast burrito. The moan that slipped free couldn’t be helped. “You are an angel among mortals.”
Maddie snorted. “You just like bacon.”
“Both can be true.”
I climbed into my SUV and followed Maddie into town. I finished the burrito before we were halfway there. Pulling to a stop in front of The Brew, I jumped out as Maddie parked around the corner.
Striding toward her, I studied Maddie’s movements. She didn’t seem to be in pain, just stiff. “Text me if your ribs start hurting too badly, and I’ll take you home.”
Maddie shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I took the medicine, and honestly, standing is more comfortable than sitting anyway.”
“Just let me know how you’re doing.”
A soft smile spread across Maddie’s face. “I will.” She stretched up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Have a good day.”
“You, too.” The urge to press my hand to the spot where her lips had been was strong. The deep need to pull her to me and drink her in was even stronger. But I forced myself to stay put as she disappeared into the café.
I swallowed the burning need and climbed back into my SUV, headed for the station. Parking in a spot at the back of the lot, I slammed my door with a little more force than necessary. I had to get the pent-up frustration out of my system somehow. Maybe I could talk Holt into sparring with me later.
Moving toward the front of the station, my steps faltered as I caught sight of someone rounding the corner across the street. Dan glared at me and flicked up his middle finger. I rolled my eyes. He really was a toddler having a hissy fit. I didn’t need his garbage on top of everything else I was dealing with: worry about Maddie, and the worst case of blue balls known to man. I definitely needed that sparring session.
